Let us remember our favorite comfy shoes. They feel so soft and nice, we almost forget we are even wearing them.

We can compare this with living from our essence, but instead of comfortable shoes, it is about how we see the world and experience life.

On occasions, we may think that things are so solid and will always be the same, like a huge rock. This is similar to believing in “permanence,” for example, in an established personality, character, or concept of “me” or “I” that somehow prevails.

Another possible point of view is thinking that the rock one day will dissolve and will not exist. This is like believing in “non-existence.”

However, our essence precedes thinking; it is unbundled from always being the same and unbundled from disappearing into nothing. Essentially, we will not become insignificant, and we are not fixed in an unchanging state.

If we look into an utterly clean mirror, we can see everything reflected in it. What we are, awareness, is like this mirror; it is always clear.

The primordial awareness is like the clear background of the mind. It is always there, even when we have lots of thoughts and feelings; it is like the sky behind the clouds. The sky is always open and clear, even when the clouds are moving by.

This innate awareness is not something we have to do or to form; it is present now, like a clear mirror within us. It is pristine, pure, and clean, prior to concepts or ideas. It reflects, like a mirror showing what is in front without trying to change it at all.

Referring to primordial awareness is like remembering this clear mirror. At times, we may not notice it because perhaps we are busy looking at all the reflections, thoughts, and feelings. When we are quiet and still, like when we are about to go to sleep, we can start to see the clear mirror.

When we remember and see this clear mirror within us, something amazing happens: we see that all those reflections, our ideas about ourselves, life, and the world, are not as solid as we might have thought. We remember that they are always changing and depending on other things.

Living from our essence is understanding that nothing is stuck in one way forever, and to remember the primordial awareness is to encounter again the clear mirror inside us that sees everything without getting stuck on the reflections.

When we comprehend that both terms refer to the same indivisible whole and we are daily embodying it, living it, it is like having those comfy shoes; we can move through the world feeling more light and at ease.

Essentially, permanency or impermanence could be considered extremes, perhaps arising from a subtle connotation of separation, of division. Our essence is prior to concepts, it is the ground from where everything arises interdependently. To think in terms of opposites frequently is the origin of discomforts. 

Let us look at it in another way: our essence is aware of the state of non-separation, which exists before the appearance of the basic split between “I” and “other,” or in other words, the viewer and the viewed.

This recognition is not an intellectual understanding, but a direct experiential realization of this inborn awareness. It often unfolds when we are quiet, prior to the persistent chatter of the conceptual mind; it reveals the prevailing and underlying clarity. It is like suddenly realizing that light has been present all along.

Once the inherent awareness is recognized, we can remember to cultivate it and allow its experience to stabilize, returning to this natural state, and gently observing thoughts and emotions without engagement. It is like enjoying resting in the immense expanse of the open sky, allowing clouds to pass by, without being carried away.

Recognizing the primordial awareness is simultaneously seeing the illusory nature of the ego and of the seemingly solid, independent existence we sometimes may attribute to the world around us. This fundamental remembrance often enables the dissolution of some limitations we might perceive.

Essence and primordial awareness are terms that represent different facets of the same phenomenon.

The remembrance of the innate awareness, the essence, often allows us to move through the world unburdened by transient circumstances and be present in the radiant dance of interconnected existence.

The clarity of the mirror does not try to grasp any reflection, it reflects the allegedly ordinary and the allegedly extraordinary, moments of feeling sadness or happiness, without clinging to any of them. It is not something we pursue, it is the ground of our lives. 

Isn’t it surprising how easily sometimes we can be unaware of what is happening around us due to reflections, the scenes playing out on the surface, on the mental screen? 

Occasionally, we may become so engaged in the narratives that we may forget to appreciate the harmonious ground where they unfold. It is similar to being so absorbed by the movie that we forget the bigger space, the cinema, and the world. 

At times, in those appreciative moments, perhaps as the day seems to soften, a glimpse of this mirror shines through. In an instant, something shifts. The “solid” edges of our concepts begin to soften too. 

The mirror, the ground, the spaciousness, does not result in a perception of “either/or”, because our essence, the deep source of awareness, exists before these differentiations even appear. It is the indivisible field from which all the seemingly disconnected experiences emerge. 

We can observe the silence before a note is heard. The silence is not the opposite of the note, it is complementary, it is the possibility for the note to resonate. Our essence is this primordial spaciousness, aware of the existential music, without the necessity to be defined just by a single note, it sees itself in all of them. 

The “aha!” moment, the experiential realization, is not an intellectual effort, it is a recognition of what has always been here. 

The intellect can be a useful tool, to clarify concepts and discern. This event does not form part of the intellect. 

Once it is tasted, the pleasant invitation of this awareness is to delight in inner stillness, to be naturally grateful for the uncountable wonders that surround us. Often, watching the clouds of thoughts and emotions pass by, without getting involved in their ongoing stories and keep on enjoying an immense sense of preciousness. 

The beautiful paradox is that realizing the unbounded ground that is our essence, the pristine mirror of our awareness, reveals at once the changing, fluid and evolving nature of the useful personality and character. Regarding a possible sense of a separate “I”, it is similar to seeing a wave on the surface of the sea and noticing that it is not independent of the sea.

We are aware that everything arises out of interconnectedness, like reflections glinting in a mirror. Our essence involves the profound dependent origination and interdependence of all things.

Let us carry the gentle wisdom of this clear mirror and the deep recognition of our interconnected essence, allowing us to navigate the vibrant flow of existence with more lightness of steps and hearts that comprehend the profound beauty of our shared existence.